Combined washbench and clothes-wringer.



No. 634,7l0. Patented Dot. l0, I899.

6. WHEELER, In. COMBINED WASHBENCH AND CLOTHES WBINGEB.

(Application filed Nov. 20, 1897. (Ila Model.) 2 sheata sheat 2.

I 5 lines.

1 1 UNITED: STATES PATENT ntro.

CYRENUS WHEELER, JR, or AUBURN, NEW YORK; DEXTER WHEELER, LUoY M. WHEEL R, HARRIET, T. WHEELER, AND oHARLES 1%. WHEELER EX- ECUTORS E SAID oYRENUS WHE LER, JR, DEoEAsED.

COMBINED WASHBENCHAND CLOTH ES-WRlNGER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 634,710, dated October 10, 1899.

Application filed November 20, 1897. Serial No. 659,276. (No model.)

To cLZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that LOYRENUs WHEELER, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Auburn, in the county of Cayuga and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in'a Combined VVashbench and Olothes-Wringer, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to reversible clotheswringers as applied to folding washbenches; and it consists in soapplying the wringer to the washbenches that it can be removed to permit folding and horizontally reversed to allow the operator to stand on eitherv side of the bench when using it, thus enablinghim or her to use the right hand at all times in turning the crank and the left hand to feed the clothing or fabric to the rolls. The wringer shown in the drawings is applied to washbenches that are arranged to hold two washtubs, and the operator can wring from either of the tubs to the other or from either tub to a basket, and when the work is finished the wringer can be removed from the benches and the benches folded so as to occupy but little space. I attain these results by the combination of devices illustrated by the accompanying drawings on two sheets, in which Figure 1, Sheet 1, is a plan view of the frame 0 work of the benches with the devices for supporting, reversing, and locking the wringer. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1, showing the wringer in working position by full lines and in its reversed working position by dotted Fig. 3, Sheet 2, is a plan view of the top cross-piece 2, with the supporting-piece and locking devices and the wringer in place in full lines and as reversed in dotted lines.

Fig. 4i is a side or edge View of supporting,

0 piece 14. Fig. 5 is a sectional view through the center of the supporting-piece 14: and top cross-piece 2. Fig. 6 is an end View of Fig. 3

and a semisectional view of the latch-piece 16,

l 1 are vertical standards for supportingthe inner ends of the tub-platforms of the wash- 5o benches and the wringer. To the bottoms of these standards foot-pieces 3 3 are attached to afiord a wide bearing upon the floor, and a cross-piece 13 connects the foot-pieces together, and on top of the standards is firmly fastened the top cross-piece 2. I These standards are far enough apart to allow a tub placed on each platform to meet under the top crosspiece. The tub-platforms are made in two separate frames. The side pieces of one of them is shown by 4 4: and its legs by 5 5, which are hinged on the rounded ends of cross-piece 6 inside of the side pieces 4; 4. The cross-piece 9 connects the opposite ends of the side pieces together, and on the top of these cross-pieces is fastened the piece 8 to serve as a support for a smaller receptacle than an ordinary tub. The legs 5 5 have a crosspiece 12 to hold them at the same distance apart as their pivoted ends, and to the under side of the side pieces 4 4 a cross-piece 7 is attached, which serves as-a stop to prevent the legs frornspreading too far outward. This tub-platform, as described, is pivoted by the inner ends of its side pieces 4 4 to the inside of the standards 1 l by the bolts 11 11, which pass through the links 10, side pieces 4 4, and standards 1 1, thus permitting this bench to be turned upward on these bolts to fold it,'as indicated by the arrow A, the legs 5 5 folding 8o downward on the round part of the crosspiece 6, as indicated by the arrow B. An other platform of like construction is pivoted to the other edge of the standards 1 l by bolts 11' ll,so as to fold "in like manner, as indi- 'cated by A B. In order to use lighter side pieces than otherwise could be done, a bearing-piece or rest 30 is firmly attached to the inside of the standards 1 1 by bolts 31, with its edge against the under side of' the side pieces-4 4 and 4: 4: and projects several inches past the edges of the standards. These bearing-pieces not only relieve the pivotbolts by vwhich the platforms are pivoted from the weight of the tub and contents, but serve as braces to hold the standards at right angles to the tub-platforms and add stiffness tothe whole framework.

. piece.

The tub-platforms when folded can be securely held in place by connecting the hook 17 to the eye 17..

The clothes-wringer shown in the drawings is of the U-spring type; but other types of Wringers can readily be applied to the bench by the devices shown in the drawings, as I have used several different ones on the benches shown and described.

In applying the wringer to the benches a flanged socket-piece 24 is fastened centrally in the top cross-piece 2, which is high enough above the tub-platforms to allow the tubs to be placed under it and against each other. Asupporting-piece 14 is provided for supporting the wringer to which it is attached back of the rollers and is connected with the vertical pivot 23 by a web-piece 32 anda circular plate 22. This connecting-web is inclined backwardiand downward from the supporting-piece 14 to the circular plate 22, which is united to the top of the pivot 23, which has its seat in the socket-piece 24, which is centrally located in the top cross-piece 2, the pivot being free to turn therein. The circular plate, which is fiat, will be on a lower plane than the supporting-piece 14, so as to bring the wringer high enough above the top cross-piece 2 to afford space for the locking devices. This supporting-piece 14 is bolted to the under side of the U-springs of the wringer 18 in place of the ordinary tub-clamps and cross-bar by bolts 19. The wringer is now supported on the top cross-piece 2 by placing its pivot 23 in the hole of the socket-piece 24, in which it will be free to turn horizontally in any direction. WVhenin use,it is necessary to have the wringer held in a fixed position both vertically and horizontally, and in this one so that it can be reversed at the pleasure of the operator or removed entirely from the benches. The looking devices will now be described. In each end of the supporting-piece 14 is a 'slot 21, formed at right angles to the pivot 23. The locking or latch piece 15 is double and is fastened firmly to one end of the top of cross-piece 2 in a vertical line with the slot 21 when the wringer is swung into locking position with it, its ends 25 being in the same horizontal plane as the slot and of the proper thickness to enter the slot when the wringer is turned on its pivot from one side to the other and are shouldered so as to stop the supportingpiece 14 in the proper position for operating the wringer fromeither side of the benches. To the other end of the cross-piece 2 is fastened the swinging latch or looking piece 16,- .which has a circular foot-piece 29pivoted to a base-plate 28, on which it is free to turn, the base-plate being fastened on the cross- The locking end of the latch is made longer than the slot 21 and is curved downward to form ahandle 26, by which to turn it in lockingand unlocking it with the slot 21. By locating the pivot 23 back of the rolls it will be seen that in either of the positions in which the wringer-supports can be locked for use the rolls will stand far enough over the tub from which the wringing is being done to al low the water to fall into the tub.

The arrow 0 indicates the direction in which the wringer moves in changing it from its position as shown in full lines to that shown in dotted lines.

Vhen the benches are to be folded, by turning the latch 16 out-of slot 21 a partial turn of the wringer will release it from its connection with locking-piece 15, and it can be removed from its socket-piece in the top crosspiece of the washbenches.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination with two washbenches composed of two tub-platforms, which have supporting-legs pivoted to their outer ends, their inner ends being pivoted to a central supporting-frame so asto permit their being folded upward against and carried by it; a clothes-wringerpivoted to the top cross-piece of said supporting-frame so as to allow itto be reversed; a locking mechanism composed of a fixed double latch-piece at one end of the top cross-piece, and a single pivoted latchpiece at the other end adapted to lock with the horizontally-slotted ends of the supporting-piece, and hold it firmly in each of its working positions, substantially as described and shown.

2. The combination of two washbenches, composed of two tub-platforms having supporting-legs pivoted to their outer ends, their inner ends being pivoted to the inner sides of a central vertical supporting-frame which will permit a tub on each platform to meet together under the top cross-piece of the supporting-frame; the clothes-wringer having a supporting-piece provided with a Web-piece that projects backward and inclines downward, and is united to a downwardly-projecting pivot, which is centrally located in the top cross-piece of the supporting-frame, and the bearing-pieces 30, attached to the standards 1, 1, to stiffen the side pieces of the plat forms, and hold the supporting-frame vertical, when the wringer is in use, substantially as described and shown.

OYRENUS WHEELER, JR.

' Vitnesses:

J. LEWIS GRANT, WM. ANDERSON.

IIO 

